1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to setting options in a user device and more particularly to a method and a user device that allows a user to intuitively, simply alter the setting of options of an application that is being executed in the user device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the rapid development of digitized technology, a variety of portable user devices that can perform communication and process user information have been released on the market. Examples of such user devices are mobile communication terminals, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), electronic organizers, smart phones, tablet PCs, etc. That is, user devices have been developed to include additional functions as well as their usual communication functions such as a voice call, and message transmission and reception. Examples of the additional functions include a video call, an electronic organizer function, a photographing function, an emailing function, a broadcast reproducing function, an Internet function, an audio playback function, a scheduling function, Social Networking Service (SNS), as well as messenger, dictionary, and game functions, etc.
Conventional user devices can set or alter the options of a user device (e.g., volume, display brightness, network, language, etc.), via additional mechanical keys, e.g., a shortcut button for controlling volume. However, if they are not equipped with such separate keys, the users must execute a settings menu, find a corresponding option to be set, and then alter the value of the option. For example, if a user of a user device, not equipped with buttons as hardware components, needs to alter an option such as display brightness while executing an application, the user must pause on the executed application, alter the level of brightness of the display via a setting menu on the home screen, etc., and then resume the application. If the user of the user device needs to alter a network option (e.g., Wi-Fi, 3G, etc.), the user must access the network option via the indicator menu to turn the network operation on/off or select one of the Wi-Fi Access Points (Wi-Fi APs) that the user device has searched for.
As such, if a user needs to alter one of the options in a user device where a number of applications are executed, he/she must stop executing all the executed applications and then set the option. Alternatively, he/she must execute a multi-tasking mode, execute a menu of a number of depths, set the option, and then re-execute the previously executed mode. These multi-step operations inconvenience the device user. That is, if the user of conventional user devices that are not equipped with software or hardware function buttons, needs to alter the options while an application is being executed, the user must stop the currently executed application, execute a menu for setting options, alter corresponding options, and resume executing the application.
The displays of user devices may need to be set at different levels of brightness according to applications, such as an e-book reader or a video player. However, if an option is altered for an application in a conventional user device, the user device applies it to the entire application. For example, if brightness is altered to a certain level for a certain application in a user device, the user device also applies the altered level of brightness to the other applications. That is, conventional user devices allow for only the level of brightness for the entire screen; however, they don't support the adjustment of the level of brightness for respective applications.